The Starving Artist: Hunger Games 2015

TASK TWO ENTRIES: LAKE

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DISTRICT 3 FEMALE: ELYSIA AMBROSE

The hot sun blared down on me the second I was raised into the arena and I wiped the sweat quickly forming on my head with the bottom of my shirt. If it was going to be this hot all the time this would be even more hellish that I anticipated.

Straight ahead, between myself and the cornucopia, was a swamp. There were some patches of land over the murky green water, but I knew that it was still going to slow me down a great deal.

I was a fast runner; I made my decision to run for the cornucopia solely based on that one fact. I knew that I would be able to run in grab the first thing I could and get out before the bloodbath began, but seeing what lay ahead, I knew my speed wasn't going to be any help at all.

I looked up from the disgusting water and focused on the cornucopia. If I was going to risk running - or jumping - through the marsh ahead I had to know I was going to get something worth the effort. I didn't want to risk my life for a useless pack of supplies. I needed to know I was going to get a great weapon or at least some decent food for my efforts. Something that would at least help me survive the games.

I looked straight ahead, part of me hoping that I wouldn't see anything useful so that I wouldn't be tempted to take the chance, but sure enough the first thing that caught my eyes was a mace, directly in front of me.

It was no secret that Capitol citizens were idiots, but gamemakers, they were not. I knew that mace was planted in that exact spot for me. To give me a reason to go ahead. I looked to the right of the mace and saw a baton. I turned my head knowing exactly who I was standing next to based just on the weapon, Cara from District One, her eyes glued to the baton. I was right. They wanted us to at least attempt to go for the cornucopia.

I had made my decision. As soon as the sixty seconds were up I was going to run for the Mace.

Something behind Cara caught my eye and for the first time since arriving in the arena my attention was drawn from the swamp and cornucopia to take in the rest of my surroundings. Getting my weapon was important, but I needed more than a weapon to get through the games. I needed to know where to go once I got my hands on that mace.

Past Cara all I could see for miles was the emptiness of a desert, but a few miles out there was a large pile. I had no idea what the pile was but I thought that it might have been supplies, and I guessed that was probably where anyone too afraid to head towards the cornucopia would go in hopes of finding something, but I shook my head. It was too open for my liking. Sure I would be able to see someone coming at me from a distance but I would have no place to hide and if they had a long distance weapon then I didn't stand a chance.

I turned my attention forward again looking behind the cornucopia. I could see some of the most beautiful green mountains, they seemed to go on forever and I was instantly drawn to them. I could see a breathtaking white flow that could only be a waterfall. It seemed to flow into the marsh ahead but I could only assume that it would be fresh and drinkable higher up. The waterfall could be key to my survival but something held me back from making the final decision to head that way. In my interview I had told Rohe I was a huge fan of her work, I wasn't completely lying. I knew of her work from previous games and it terrified me. I remembered that she was amazing when it came to volcanic activities and that was all I could think of while looking at the deceivingly beautiful mountains ahead. It was the one thing that kept me from wanting to go straight for them.

Sadly I turned to my left, looking for my next option and immediately shook my head. A huge lake surrounding some small islands. It seemed like a great option, but one thing held me back. I wasn't a strong swimmer, and I wasn't sure if I would be able to make it all the way to one of the islands.